WR Tobias Palmer is dejected on the N.C. State bench after Saturday's 43-35 loss at UNC

CHAPEL HILL – The play everyone will remember for years to come is the 74-yard punt return by Giovani Bernard with 13 seconds remaining to give North Carolina a stunning 43-35 victory against N.C. State at Kenan Stadium on Saturday.

That, however, was only the final, dramatic exclamation point in a series of pivotal mistakes – many of them self-inflicted – that helped end the Wolfpack’s five-game winning streak against the rival Tar Heels.

“It looked good, senior offensive guard R.J. Mattes said after it was all over. “We never capitalized when we should have,” senior offensive tackle R.J. Mattes said after it was all over. “We stalled in the fourth quarter, obviously. Even though that punt return cost us the game, that’s not what caused it. We didn’t capitalize when we should have.”

Rashard Smith scores an N.C. State touchdown during the first half Saturday'

The Wolfpack, which came into the game controlling its own destiny in the ACC’s Atlantic Division race, had several opportunities to put UNC away after battling back from an early 25-7 deficit.

It failed to convert one when quarterback Mike Glennon was intercepted by the Tar Heels’ Terry Shankle in the end zone early in the third quarter and another a few minutes later when usually reliable kicker Niklas Sade missed a 38-yard field goal attempt wide left.

Even with those empty possessions, State still appeared to be in complete control after Glennon threw his school record-tying fifth touchdown pass of the day – a 55-yarder to a wide-open Bryan Underwood – for a 35-25 lead with 39 seconds left in the period.

It was at that point, however, that State’s focus seemed to take a dramatic shift.

Instead of putting the teetering Tar Heels away at a time when UNC had no answers for either Glennon and his offense or a Wolfpack defense that shut the Tar Heels out for the middle two quarters, coach Tom O’Brien’s team began playing not to lose.

Although State had trouble holding onto the football all day – including a questionable fumble charged to tight end Mario Carter and at least six drops by four different receivers – it was some fourth quarter play calling that helped leave the door open for the UNC comeback.

The first instance came after the Tar Heels scored a touchdown to narrow the gap to 35-32.

Gaining possession at its own 26 following an exchange of punts with 6:47 left, State picked up a first down on three consecutive runs by freshman Shadrach Thornton. But with an opportunity to keep the ball away from the opposition and run some clock, O’Brien and his offensive coordinator Dana Bible decided to put the ball in the air.

The result was three straight incompletions, punctuated by a ball in which Underwood appeared to turn the wrong way, forcing a Wil Baumann punt. Nine plays later, another kicker from Hoggard High – UNC’s Casey Barth – converted a 34-yard field goal to tie the score and set up the dramatics to come.

“We wanted to get a little bit of field position and get the ball out a little bit,” O’Brien said of his decision to throw. “We wanted to continue to attack. We had been successful throwing the ball the whole time. We had a chance with Underwood running wide open down the boundary and we missed him.”

If State got caught trying to be too aggressive before the Tar Heels’ tying field goal, then it overcompensated in the other direction once it got the ball back with 1:24 remaining.

After Glennon was sacked on first down, O’Brien decided to play it safe and take his chances in overtime. Only the game never got that far.

UNC called its final two times outs following short runs by Tony Creecy. And with 30 seconds left on the clock, the stage was set for the kind of play the Wolfpack usually found a way to make over its five years of dominance in this rivalry.

Giovani Bernard sealed the Wolfpack's fate with this 74-yard punt return for a touchdown

Only this time, the hero – Bernard – was wearing blue.

“I think we might have over-kicked it,” O’Brien said of Baumann’s fateful 48-yard punt. “What you want to do is kick it high and make him fair catch it, which we’d been doing. We had the wind behind us and the wind took it, but you still have to cover and make a tackle.”

Because they didn’t do either, both the winning streak against the Tar Heels and State’s chances of winning the Atlantic Division came to a stunning end. It was a dramatic ending that left players from both teams with tears in their eyes.

“I figured we’d go into overtime until the last play,” said Glennon, whose 467-yard passing performance was wasted. “They did a good job on that punt return. You have to give them credit. … We came back from it here and let it slip away. It was definitely a tough loss.”

Good analysis. I watched the game, plus read a couple articles. Seems most agree that the failure to move after Thornton’s first down was the key point in the Pack’s loss. It was a good punt to Bernard, but you have to defend and tackle! State has a tackling problem. Plus, this game showed they have a pass-catching problem (at least 7 drops, by my count). Hmm…tackling…pass-catching…maybe a problem with fundamentals? Maybe a coaching problem?